


Turtle Soup

by magifrog



Category: One Piece
Genre: Other, Pre-Timeskip, platonic flirting with Sanji and Nami
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-24
Updated: 2015-05-04
Packaged: 2018-03-25 12:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3810979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magifrog/pseuds/magifrog
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the Strawhats embark on their journey to Water Seven, they take an unexpected detour. Although Turtle Island seems like a paradise, trouble is brewing in the distance and strange emotions are emerging from the depths. Gradual Sanji/Usopp/Zoro, incredibly silly shenanigans</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Fire of Burning Passion is Set Ablaze! Quite Literally

**Author's Note:**

> Check my profile for the progress of chapters!

_On the horizon, a mass of floating islands turns circles slowly in the warm current. The ship creaks as it turns to parallel one of the nine. A smile flashes white against the darkened sky as sharp spears impale the land with a sickening snap._

With dawn just starting to bloom across the wide ocean, Sanji roused himself from sleep, groaning as he slipped into his work clothes. He hated having the early-morning shift almost as much as he hated the night shift, but he especially hated having to follow up with Zoro. It was already stressful enough not being able to get a head-start on the day’s breakfast, but forcing himself to chat with the green-haired wonder first thing in the morning was frankly almost too much to bear.

As he exited the crew’s quarters and headed above-deck, he noticed Usopp tinkering with something in the dim light.

“Morning.”

“Morning.”

Sanji was pretty sure the carpenter had been up all night. No, that wasn’t right. What was he again? The mascot? The storyteller? Definitely not the musician. It didn’t matter. Usopp was a good kid, and there was some sort of admiration in his chest as he passed the working… scientist? Seriously, what was his job? The only thing sticking in Sanji’s mind was ‘Captain Usopp and his 8000 men,’ which obviously couldn’t be right.

He was still straining his sleepy mind as he climbed to the crow’s nest, sighing as he reached the top. The shitty swordsman was half asleep, a small smile resting on his face and bottles strewn across the wooden boards around him.

“Oi,” Sanji begun, yawning. “Why’re you so happy this morning? That stupid smile is seriously getting on my nerves.”

“I dunno. Thinkin’.” Zoro took a sip of his sake, swishing the bottle around a little wistfully.

“That’s all you ever do besides sleep and drink.” Sanji cleared a spot and sat down, stretching his long legs out in front of him. The sky blossomed pink and gold as the sun began to creep over the waves.

“Can I ask you something, dartboard?”

“Call me that again and I’ll kick you to the next island,” the cook said, tensing up. “But yeah, as long as you stop sneaking into my fridge, boozehound.”

“Is it real?”

“What?”

A pause. Then Zoro is reaching over and Sanji flinches before realizing Zoro’s fingers are lightly pressing on his eyebrow, lightly tracing the curl.

For a second, Sanji could feel time slow down, blood rising to his face.

"What are you-"

"Holy shit," Zoro whispered before breaking out laughing. Sanji elbowed him in the face.

"My eyebrows aren't that funny!"

"But you admit they're funny."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Sanji stood up, kicking one of the bottles of sake into the still-dark waters.

"Hey!"

"Drinking's bad for you." Zoro clambered to his feet, stumbling a little. As he reached for something to steady himself, he ended up accidentally trapping Sanji between him and the rail. He smelled tangy and spoiled the way cheap alcohol does, and the cook wrinkled his sensitive nose. "Get off me."

"Nah, if I move I'm gonna fall over," Zoro said, taking the cigarette out of Sanji's mouth and wrinkling his nose at the dirty, grey-smelling tobacco. "Y'know, smoking's bad for you."

And he let it drop.

 

A second later, something hot and ashy fell into Usopp's bag of explosives, setting a large portion of the Merry on fire. If the tinkerer hadn't been stopping, dropping and rolling for his life, he might have been incredibly forlorn at the amount of repairs that would be needed to fix the fire damage.

However, once he got his burning hair out, he was just happy to be alive.

"No, idiot, don't climb down!"

A large thump, then more bickering.

"Why did you bring that down??"

"It's liquid, I'm putting out the fire."

"Like hell! Don't-" Then a fwoosh followed by a thump. "God damnit."

Usopp cracked his eyes open, just in time to see their irritated chef stomping (and kicking) out the flames. He propped himself up on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"Well-" he croaked before coughing weakly, "at least the new formula works."

 

"I'll just sleep it off."

In the ship infirmary, Zoro and Usopp were being lectured by a certain reindeer doctor, who crossed his tiny arms at the swordsman’s comment.

“It’s important to apply the salve, Zoro! Otherwise, it’ll keep stinging and you’ll be in pain!”

“It hurts when you put it on, so I don’t want it.” Zoro laid back, re-wrapping the bandages on his right arm. Chopper sighed, knowing he wasn’t going to get very far in this argument. None of the Strawhats really followed his advice, which could sometimes be frustrating.

“Usopp! Stop picking at that!”

“Yes sir, Dr. Chopper!”

“D-Don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because you called me Doctor!” True to his nature, Chopper was smiling ear to ear, or would be if his ears weren’t on top of his head. Satisfied with the amount of progress he’d made, he headed out to get breakfast.

Almost instantaneously, Sanji walked in with a tray piled high with hotcakes and thin-sliced fried sea monster. Despite the odd, slightly fishy aroma, Zoro could feel his stomach gnaw at itself.

“Smells great.”

“Good. Smells are all you’re getting. This is Usopp’s breakfast.”

“All this for just me?” The sharpshooter’s eyes widened. He was used to sharing his portions with Luffy. Well, everyone was, but he was the most frequent victim. In the bed next to him, Zoro groaned.

“What did I do this time? Don’t you have a thing about feeding people?”

“Think of it as part of your training, cactushead.”

“My hair is not a cactus!”

“It is green and spiky, though,” interjected Usopp thoughtfully. Sanji snorted amusedly and set the tray down on the frizzy-haired boy’s lap.

As the chef waltzed out the door, Zoro flopped back in bed, staring at the ceiling hopelessly.

“Can I have some of that?”

“Huh? No way, it was made ‘specially for me. Plus, whenever I share food with one of you monster men, you always eat the lion’s share.”

“C’mon, just a slice of meat? One?” Zoro sat up, trying to use his pretty face as leverage. Ugh, that was kind of a Nami move. Unfortunately, Usopp was already digging in, a devout practitioner of defensive eating.

When Sanji came back in, they were fighting over the last flapjack, dueling it out with the silverware. He cleared his throat, and Zoro looked at him with more irritation than a bee in a jar.

“That food better be mine,” he said threateningly. “Usopp can’t wield a fork forever.”

“I can too! I won first place in my village’s annual fork-wielding tourn-”

“Like I believe that!”

Sanji just sighed and set the platter down, revealing a colorful arrangement of fruit meticulously presented in the shape of a flower.

“Diced specially for you, fruit for the fruit.”

“I’m not a fruit, jackass.” Despite the resentment rising under his skin, Zoro gulped down what he could. The meager amounts of plant matter weren’t enough to sate his hunger, but they did taste good. The one thing he couldn’t deny (no matter how much he wanted to) was that Sanji had a way with flavors, even if he was a complete shithead every waking moment.

“Can I try some…?”

“Hell no! He made this for me and me alone,” Zoro countered, paraphrasing the sniper’s earlier words. When he looked up, he noticed Sanji had taken a seat, smiling slightly. Almost endearingly.

“You know, you do look a lot like a kiwi.” Moment gone.

“You remind me of a lemon. A big- a big sour lemon.”

“What fruit am I?” Usopp interjected, and both men paused, putting serious thought into it.

“An acorn?”

“That’s not a fruit, stupid marimo. Is the inside of your head as fuzzy as the outside?”

“It falls from a tree, so it’s a fruit.”

“I think Usopp would make a lovely starfruit.”

“Because I’m a star?”

“That’s not a real thing!”

“Is too!”

“Is not!”

“It is,” Usopp nodded. “When you cut them, they look just like a sea star.”

“Liar,” said Zoro, crossing his arms and sticking his tongue out. Then, a sound he had never heard directed at him, a hearty, genuine laugh.

“You two are like children sometimes.” Sanji straightened his coat, yawning. His face rearranged itself into a light, easygoing, completely and absolutely unattractive smile, and he stepped forward to take Usopp’s dishes. Zoro suppressed the urge to say look who’s talking, instead handing his half-full tray to the blond annoyance. “You’re not eating it?”

“I need something more filling, I’m not a perfumed asshole who can run around on melons and- whatever that thing is.”

“Part of a starfruit. And nobody is going to want your dregs, so finish eating. You’ll develop scurvy if you don’t eat fruit, and you haven’t touched any since we left Skypiea.”

The calm, collected way Sanji lectured him infuriated Zoro, because both of them knew he was right. It didn’t help that Usopp was the worst bystander ever, and seemed almost amused at the back-and-forth. And was he really supposed to believe that starfruit was a real thing? What was next, squarefruit? Trianglefruit? He sighed and resigned himself to picking at the sticky mess, making a face at the chef as soon as he turned his back to leave.

A few moments of silence. Then Usopp turned to him.

“So, can I try some?”

 

Sanji was still plagued with guilt as he made his way to the upper deck, filling his arms with the abandoned breakfast dishes. Even though technically everyone was fed, he still felt bad about not serving the shitty swordsman enough to eat. He guessed the right thing to do was to make him an extra-filling lunch, as much as he wanted to abuse his power. Zoro did have a point, after all, burning energy with constant training and fighting warranted more than a simple fruit platter.

As the hot sun bore down on him, he took a moment to appreciate the view (Nami and Robin sunbathing) but surprisingly, was more preoccupied with his own thought. He felt like he was the reason for all this trouble- if he hadn’t been screwing around with Zoro, their- again, what was he? Chief bug-catcher?- wouldn’t be head to toe in bandages right now. Zoro’s injuries were his own damn fault, but Usopp didn’t deserve that sort of catastrophe.

And what was up with Zoro? The whole eyebrow touching, personal space-disregarding incident? And then claiming the food was made especially for him? It seriously made Sanji’s head hurt. He headed to the galley to attempt to scrub his mind free of worries like the sticky film of mango syrup covering the breakfast dishes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is pretty much set after Skypiea, since when I was plotting it out I had just finished that arc. Now that it's mostly done in that regard, I'm so sad that I don't get to write any Franky... Anyways, let me know if this was enjoyable and in-character! I wanted it to read like the manga more or less, and I have some exciting things planned story-wise! Thank you for reading!


	2. The Mysterious Destination is Revealed!

_Under the boat, a dark shape rises. He knows what he has to do to save his family. Gently, he aligns himself with the figurehead, surfacing slowly and balancing the keel precariously on his back. Worry flashes across his primitive brain before memories of the sounds of laughing and merrymaking soothe it. These people are good, he is sure. These people can help._  

The ship wobbled and creaked, and all Nami could do was hang on to her lawn chair. As soon as the turmoil stopped, she ran for the railing, her eyes widening. A sea monster? Something more sinister? As Lock Post turned on her wrist, she realized the shelled creature was taking them away from their route. A jarring memory of the Super-Speedy Shrimp crossed her mind.

“That’s a huge tortoise!” Luffy shouted, leaning over the rail.

“It’s a turtle,” Nami corrected him, fidgeting nervously.

“Huh? What’s the difference?”

“Tortoises live on land,” answered Robin, walking up to assess the situation. “Turtles are specifically adapted to the sea, and can travel at high speeds underwater."

"Huh? This one seems slow."

"And it's taking us away from our route," added Nami, tapping her Lock Post. "We should take care of that."

"You mean I can fight the tortoise?"

"It's a turtle!"

"Nami-san is right," said Sanji as he emerged from the lower levels, oblivious to the actual content of the argument. "What was the trouble just now? Are we hit?"

"Carried is more like it," said Robin, smiling and pointing towards a fuzzy shape on the port bow. "I'd guess towards that island, since the turtle is guiding us to the east." Luffy crossed his arms and frowned.

"Robin, you're supposed to yell land ho when you see one! Just pointing at it is no fun!"

Nami turned away from the bickering, studying the faraway island. Although she preferred to put her faith in fact and science, she had a bad premonition about being carried towards it.

 

"You're sure we've recovered all the survivors?"

"Yes, ma'am! We combed the area thoroughly!"

The puffy-haired woman sat on the steps of her home, sighing.

"I can't help but think this is all my fault, Natsumi... I know that I shouldn't, but the people look to me, and before long there won't be people at all." Natsumi shook her head vehemently, dark curls bouncing.

"We'll make it out of this. We've always found solutions before."

"Not like this. Not losing our islands."

"Have faith, Sargasso, ma'am. I'll fix this."

And with that, the shorter woman bounded off, a look of determination fixed upon her face.

 

"By popular demand, we are being kidnapped by a giant sea turtle," Sanji said calmly as he set a plate of food on each man's lap.

"Wh-what??" Usopp's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. Zoro merely picked at the strange yellow substance on his plate.

"What the hell is this food?"

"Mixed paella."

"Why is it yellow?"

"Why are we being kidnapped by a turtle! That's the only question you should be asking!"

"I trust Luffy's judgement," said Zoro sagely before picking at his food again. "Seriously, cook, it's unnatural. Is it supposed to be cheese or something?"

"To answer Usopp's question, Robin-chan told us about the island renowned for turtles like these. She mentioned the treasures hidden there, so Nami-san decided we'd go there to find it." Sanji sighed, taking a drag of his cigarette and leaning back in his usual wooden seat. “I’m taking the plates away in ten minutes, so eat or don’t eat.”

Zoro huffed, shoveling the food into his mouth as quickly as he could. As much as the yellowy color freaked him out, he wasn't about to risk Sanji making him miss another meal. Or make him another fruit salad, for that matter.

Usopp, in the meantime, ate slowly, savoring each bit of his food. It pissed Zoro off a little, how the chef was practically fawning over him. Was this supposed to be some sort of punishment? He frowned at the remains of the saffron-infused rice on his plate, deciding he'd work hard at pretending not to get angry. That'd show Sanji who was the bigger man.

"Oi, melonhead."

"Yeah, shit-cook?" Alright, so maybe name-calling wasn't off the table. Sanji rolled his eyes, grabbing the plate from Zoro's hands.

"Nevermind, you're done."

"I'm done too, Sanji-kun."

"Kun? Really?" Zoro crossed his arms and gave Usopp a questioning look. Screw the plan. If they were going to get all buddy-buddy, he had every right to act like an angry teenager. Hell, he still was one.

"Kun is fine with me," Sanji replied, smiling pointedly at the sharpshooter and waving his goodbyes. As the cook left, Zoro turned to Usopp.

"What is this about? Tell me, or else." The swordsman nodded at Wado, which was leaning against the wall, ready to be unsheathed at any moment. It was the only weapon Chopper allowed in the infirmary, knowing the attachment Zoro had to it.

"I'm not supposed to, but..." Usopp fidgeted, weaving his fingers together. "It's kind of a stupid joke, me and Sanji are just messing around with you because if I join in I get extra snacks."

"Selling out on me just for snacks??"

"To be fair, he makes an amazing cobbler...?"

"But you don't know why he's doing it, do you." Zoro sighed. He was almost sure it had to do with the fuzzy memories of him being incredibly drunk the night of the fire incident. It wasn't like Sanji would get mad at him for anything silly he did when he was drunk, unless it was something that seriously got everyone in trouble, like that time at Harpy Beach. At least the harpies had been outright aggressive, instead of screwing with his head the way his- the chef was doing.

 

On the stairs up to the kitchen, Sanji reflected on his situation. It wasn't like he was being too mean- Zoro did start a fire on their- magician? That had to be it, he was sure. But it did feel like he hadn't been exactly punished for his misconduct. And, Usopp was actually pleasant to spend time with as long as you took his stories with a grain of salt. The cooking analogy made him smile, and he got to work rinsing the lunch dishes.

Dinner was a hearty stew full of the meat Luffy loved so much and plenty of vegetables Chopper recommended for boosting the crew's energy. Sanji had frowned a bit as Chopper the dietician spoke with him, knowing that more energy would not exactly help Zoro to keep up the patient façade he was already tiring of. A second-degree burn like the one he had suffered wasn't enough to keep him down for more than a day, if that. So, Sanji left the dishes to soak and prepared a separate dish for the marimo, heating up leftover slices of turkey and seasoning it with lavender and chamomile. He was no doctor, but he hoped that the mixture of herbs might keep his- no, the swordsman asleep for a while.

 

As the sky reddened, dark hills became more apparent against the bright color, and Luffy could barely contain his excitement.

“They look so evil and sinister! Do you think they’ll have more pirates there for us to fight?"

"I hope not!! We're in enough trouble as is, with the ship full of holes and the treasure waiting for anyone to come and take it." Nami recalled what Robin had told her- that the island chain protected one of the precious jewels of the Grand Line. Of course, there had been an amused smile on the archaeologist's face while she mentioned it, so Nami suspected there was some hidden catch to getting the treasure- some booby trap or another, or an ancient ruin Robin would insist on studying far past their time limit.

Whatever the situation, she was determined to secure the jewel, if only to prevent it from getting into the wrong hands.

As the islands grew closer, an excited dot waved to them. Nami took the helm, guiding the ship gracefully to parallel the docks. An incredibly bouncy woman with springy, puffy hair and flowing robes smiled sweetly and approached the side of the ship.

“Welcome to the Turtle Islands! Are you pirates?”


	3. The Turtle Islands! A Secret Plot is Conceived

_The last haul hadn’t been quite enough. There were still debts to be paid, still weapons to be repaired. “Lance, sir,” a wiry, strong woman said flatly. “According to our subordinate on the islands, we have a little competition.” The captain sighed and folded his hands together, lacing his fingers. They could handle it._

_“Tell Umiko to plot our course.”_

 

It was incredibly hard for Sanji to avoid showering their cheerful guide with praise. She had introduced herself as Natsumi, and not only did she have a gorgeous, down-to-earth look in her thin, flowing garments, she held herself with the confidence and poise of a real lady. As the deep blue of night crept across the sky, she pointed down the narrow streets towards a row of bamboo huts.

“This is where our guests usually stay, when we have them.”

“Do you not usually have any?” Nami-swan seemed suspicious of the island chain, as beautiful and idyllic as it seemed. Sanji guessed it had a summery sort of climate, judging by the different types of flora surrounding the habitations. Indeed, it was a little ridiculous that there weren’t any other tourists.

“Well, it’s complicated,” said Natsumi, furrowing her brow. “Technically, our islands have such a weak magnetic pull that the Lock Post won’t point to us, although we’re fairly close to a few other island systems.”

“Why is that? Does it have to do with the way these islands move?”

“In a sense, although I don’t think I can explain it just yet. What I can say is that in the middle of our formation is a volcanic hotspot, which is building an island slowly under the surface of the waves. In time, we’ll have more of a pull and maybe become a destination along the Line.”

“Oh? That’s fascinating, I had no idea that a partially-formed island would be so off the radar…”

“Ah! You two are just so smart, it’s amazing~” Sanji smiled charmingly, butting his way into the conversation. Nami rolled her eyes and swatted him away, and Natsumi giggled at the praise.

“What a flirt! I’m sorry, I already have someone, Sanji-kun.” His smile faltered, but he nodded respectfully.

“Nami-san still loves me, so it’s fine.”

“You know it,” grinned the redhead as she blew him a joking kiss. He pretended to catch it exaggeratedly, sending Nami into a rather fake-looking swoon. It was almost an inside joke, although Sanji liked to think there was some degree of flirtation involved.

Meanwhile, Luffy bounded ahead to the huts, grabbing the doorframe and swinging himself through.

“Whoa, guys, there’re holes in the walls! It’s so breezy!”

“Don’t you dare poke at them, Luffy!” Nami sighed but hurried ahead to survey the cabins, ducking inside with just a hint of excitement. For her, adding notes to her maps about the quality of the lodgings on each island was a treat. As Robin picked her cabin, Sanji turned toward the remaining one, somewhat surprised as a mop of red hair poked out of Nami’s doorway.

“Nami-swan?”

“Listen, why don’t you stay with me tonight?”

“H- th-that- really…?” Sanji’s cheeks prickled, but Nami’s eyerolling dampened his enthusiasm quite a bit. “I- I’ll take the floor, don’t worry! A real gentleman-”

“There’s two beds, idiot!” Nami tossed a pillow at Sanji’s face, flopping down on her cot. “In any case, there’s a reason I asked you to do this for me.”

“Because you l-”

“Because something’s not right here! Nobody seems to be realizing it, but didn’t you feel unusually balanced when we set foot on this island?”

“...Oh? Then… we didn’t have to get our land legs, which means…”

“Exactly! These can’t be real islands, although the fact that there’s no geological phenomenon that would make landmasses move so rapidly was an obvious clue.”

“What are we on, then? Huge ships?”

“It’s possible.” Nami laid back, crossing her legs and propping herself against the bamboo wall. “Whatever these islands really are, they’re definitely mobile, which increases our chances of getting kidnapped or split up from the Merry.” She smiled, her demeanor changing to the cheerful Nami that Sanji couldn’t resist. “So you’ll protect me, right?”

“Right! Consider me your knight and your confidant!” Sanji kneeled as if swearing fealty, sending Nami into giggles. Even if his sincerity was seen as goofy to her, he still felt immense satisfaction at that beautiful bell-like laugh.

 

“Is he out there sulking still?” Back on the boat, the doctor and his patient were staying in the infirmary as per their plan.

“Yeah, ‘fraid so.” Usopp winced a little as Chopper’s fingers rubbed a green, toothpaste-like salve into his burns. “But do you really have to change into Gorilla Point for this? It makes your bedside manner seriously distressing…”

“It’s Heavy Point! I’m not a gorilla! And I can’t use my hooves to spread this around or it’d take all night, you know that!” Chopper sighed heavily, exasperated with the tediousness of his task. “I’m just worried about not being able to keep an eye on Zoro. You know how he is.”

“Yeah, he really gets wound up when he can’t go explore with everyone else.” Usopp twisted his features into a tough scowl, deepening his voice. “Why does that stupid cook get to go instead of me? No, Mr. Tanuki, don’t put that stuff on me, I’m training to be invincible to fire!”

Chopper held his hand over his mouth, trying hard not to all-out guffaw at Usopp’s impression. The foamy salve covered his mouth and chin like a beard when he pulled back, sending his patient into a fit of (somewhat painful) laughter.

“What?? What is it?” The prognosis for this case of the giggles was abysmal.

 

As light filtered into the infirmary, a rough hand shook Usopp’s shoulder. Met with the painful sensation of pressure on a burn scar, Usopp opened his eyes almost immediately.

“Ow! What’re you doing, asshole?”

“C’mon, we’re sneaking off the ship. Don’t you wanna get a piece of the action?”

“Listen, I know you heal freakishly fast, but don’t assume I feel well enough to walk everywhere! I like the stay-on-the-ship-with-my-two-bodyguards plan.”

“Who’s saying I’ll be your bodyguard? Come on, I’ll carry you if it hurts to walk that much.” Grumbling, the sharpshooter swung his legs over the edge of the bed, cautiously putting weight on them and poking at the pink scars that covered his brown skin.

“They… are useless. I will definitely have to stay in bed for at least a month.”

“What a lie!” Zoro shook his head and lifted Usopp over his shoulder, easing up his grip when he heard a hiss of pain. He grabbed a bag and swung it over his other shoulder, tiptoeing his way to the upper deck of the Merry.

“Can you at least carry me so you’re not pressing against my burns?” The swordsman sighed but complied, shifting and using both of his arms.

“You can walk anyway, I saw you walking to the galley for a midnight snack earlier.”

“That was before the leg-eating bacteria gobbled up all of my muscles! Besides, I have a deathly condition, never-explore-a-new-island-iosis! Do you want me to die??”

“Won’t it be embarrassing if we meet up with the others and I’m carrying you, you sack of potatoes?” Despite the insult, Zoro was smiling. He actually kind of enjoyed Usopp’s outrageousness, even if it was a hindrance. But then, he’d never been one to deny himself a challenge.

“I’ll just… tell them of the terrible injuries I sustained while we fought off the local monsters. It’s fine to be embarrassing if you’re also heroic, you know.”

“That’s one way of looking at it, I guess.” They crossed the threshold of the gangplank onto dry land, and Usopp sighed and pushed away from Zoro, letting himself down.

“I’ll explore with you on one condition, okay?” The sniper crossed his arms, holding out a finger. “One, no picking fights. And two, don’t get lost.”

“That’s two conditions, cheater.” Rolling his eyes, Zoro pulled Usopp’s arm out of its position, lacing his fingers through the other boy’s.

“What- what is this for?” Usopp could feel his palms start to sweat and heat rise to his ears. Honestly, he’d never even really held hands with Kaya, and even if this wasn’t romantic he still felt-

“Look,” said Zoro grumpily, interrupting his inner turmoil. “This is the best way to not get lost. There’s no way we’re tying ourselves together like last time.” Usopp had a faint recollection of the leash fiasco, which had ended in Sanji convincing Luffy to attempt to play fetch with the mollified swordsman. Before that, Robin had conjured eyes and a mouth on his chest, relaying directions to him, but Zoro couldn’t tell left from right if his life depended on it. Which in many cases, it had.

“Alright, I guess we could try this.” Usopp swallowed his thoughts about linking arms or maybe just having Zoro hold his forearm, because the calloused fingers squeezing his own were warm and strong and it was… almost scary to hold them, in the way that a roller coaster is thrilling but also extremely, incredibly frightening. Zoro seemed oblivious to any sort of tension in the other’s shaky fingers, kicking a rock or two as they headed to the main settlement.

 

Morning in the Gervasio District was bustling and cheery, fabrics of all colors and lengths fluttering about the marketplace. If Sanji had to compare it to anything, he might say it was like a horde of butterflies descending on a fruit basket. As he and the crew stretched their legs, Natsumi led them along the edge of the crowd.

“Now, I know you may be eager to replenish your supplies, but just bear with me, okay? I know you’ll love Vanessa more than anything, especially you, Mr. Pirate King.” Luffy grinned at the nickname, emanating his usual ‘shishishishi’ as he leaped ahead to match the guide’s pace.

“Is Vanessa the meat island?”

There was an awkward pause as Natsumi froze, a look of pain flashing across her face. Nami’s eyes narrowed, fidgeting with her fingers as the tour guide regained her composure.

“No, of course not! It’s meant to be a district of the city where people go to relax and entertain themselves, and there are a ton of things to do there.”

“Oh. Do they sell meat there?”

As Luffy interrogated their helper for the whereabouts of the meat, Nami fell back in line to murmur to Robin.

“Did you see the look on her face when he asked her about meat?” Robin nodded seriously, the cogs of her mind working to provide the most macabre answer she could muster.

“Maybe the island is a composite of floating corpses rising from the deep sea.”

“That’s- I- I hope not.”

“It would certainly make for an excellent geographical study, Miss Navigator.” Nami swore sometimes Robin said these things just to fuck with them. Or at least, she hoped that was the case.

 

As the shape of Vanessa District became more apparent beyond the thinning merchant stalls, the Strawhats found themselves crossing a wooden suspension bridge connecting the two islands. The surface of the water was covered with masses of seaweed, green bubbles of plant matter filled with air to keep the tangles afloat. Suddenly, a shape rose out of the water beneath them and fell just as quickly, sending a tremor through the rocking bridge. Nami strained to get a good look before being pulled along by Natsumi.

“I’m sorry, but we really can’t block the rope bridge, there’s not enough room for two lanes.” The navigator frowned before continuing her journey across the water.

“Why is this place called the Turtle Islands, Natsumi-san?”

“Well, um… This archipelago is home to over sixty different types of sea turtles, all who have adapted to a certain diet or niche in the food chain. Some of the types of turtle really are amazing, though, you’ll be able to see them at the scuba-diving pool on Vanessa.”

“Eh? Diving pool?”

“Don’t even think about it, straw-brain!” Sanji, indignant as ever, swatted the back of his captain’s head.”

“He should be able to swim if someone pulls him along,” Robin responded, deep in thought. “Would those arrangements be fine with the people supervising the diving pool?” Natsumi nodded graciously, happy to have a distraction for the hard-to-handle crew. Stepping onto the hard-packed soil of the Vanessa District, Robin smiled conclusively. “In that case, I’d also like to go. Studying the past and present ecology of the islands is something I’m interested in as a historian.”

“If no one would mind, Sanji and I have to restock our supplies, so we’ll have to miss out on all that,” Nami said, looking pointedly at the chef, who nodded supportively.

“Then I guess we’re splitting up! Let’s meet at the meat store, okay?”

“No! We’re meeting at the cabins, Luffy.”

“Right! Meat store!”

Nami sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early morning update! Natsumi's name is written with the characters 菜 (na) meaning vegetables and 摘 (tsumu) meaning pick or pluck, which is because she's both head of the (incredibly small) tourist industry and the head of the farmer's association. Hopefully I'll write more about the gardening techniques used on the islands and how they make use of the limited land available, but then again I don't want to fill up 5 chapters with exposition instead of entertainment, ahaha. Anyways, let me know if the translation is not accurate! I tried my best to give characters more in-depth names since Oda plays around with kanji in the manga so much, but I'm not a Japanese speaker, so unfortunately there might be inaccuracies. Thanks, everyone!


	4. Leisure Time on the Islands! A Deal is Struck

_Sargasso watched the water anxiously. Although they still had days to prepare, the raids had been coming more and more frequently, and it was only a matter of time before the pirates struck again. She cursed the power of the Devil’s Fruit she felt rushing through her veins, slamming her fists into the fragile walls of her hut  and snapping the bamboo poles under her bare fingers._

_“Ma’am?”_

_“I’m fine. Just make sure an offer is made, today.”_

 

“Are we seriously lost already? With you as the leader?”

“Hey, I’m no Nami! I may be the designated jack-of-all-trades, master of the craft, but there are some things I just cannot do!”

The pair walked arm in arm along the narrow streets of Gervasio District. Really, it was no fault of their own that they were lost, or that was how Zoro chose to see it. If the islands weren’t so damn packed full of confusing stands and vendors and had, say, geographical landmarks, maybe they could make it out of the labyrinthine bazaar and somewhere less horrifyingly crowded. As it was, he could feel the crowd of bickering, bargaining shoppers closing in on him, and he subconciously squeezed Usopp’s hand.

“Zoro?”

“Hm?”

“Why don’t we go inside one of these places? I mean, it won’t be as, uh, loud and annoying as out here, right?”

“I don’t care, as long as we can figure out how to get back to the ship eventually.” His words were apathetic, but Usopp noticed Zoro’s eyes unfocused and darting from place to place, his free hand resting on Wado. It was urgent to get them out of the small space, so Usopp pulled them into the first large tent he could find.

It was a clothing vendor, and all sorts of long, stretchy fabrics adorned the walls and racks.

“Just what I needed! We need to blend in with the locals, right? It might help with the strange looks everyone’s giving us.”

“I think that might have more to do with a man covered in bandages walking next to a man armed with several intimidating swords.” Usopp paid him no mind, picking out a brilliant green loose shirt and a patterned cotton skirt. He disappeared into the fitting room, and Zoro rolled his eyes, turning to a rack and trying to find something that didn’t look vaguely like a poncho.

Needless to say, Usopp emerged radiant from the booth, his hair poofy and wild from removing his bandana. The long shirt fluttered slightly as the wind squeezed itself past the gaps in the tent wall, like the surface of a dewy pond.

“What do you think?”

“Well, it hides the bandages.”

“Good enough,” Usopp shrugged, holding his hand out for the bag of provisions. He stuffed his clothes in and rummaged around for their allowances, paying the kindly old vendor who sat in a canvas chair in the corner.

“Don’t they have any button-ups or regular shirts?”

“You should try wearing these clothes, Zoro, they’re soft and they really keep the heat off.”

“Yeah? That skirt would restrict my movement, so it’s useless.” It was clear the swordsman was still having a hard time in the confines of the clothing tent, so Usopp made a quick selection and asked the seller for directions out of the marketplace.

As they found themselves in a more sparse environment, Zoro relaxed, the thick fog that had invaded his mind seeming to lift as the scent of spices and human beings left his senses. Then a sound that made every muscle in his body tense.

“Oi, mosshead, carpenter. I could use some help here.” Sanji appeared seemingly out of nowhere, carting bags of flour and hulking parcels of meat behind him in an overloaded wagon. He wiped the sweat from his brow, the hot sun creating shadows that contrasted with his creamy skin. Zoro hated that completely and totally, unthinkably unattractive complexion. A real man would have trained out in the sun until his skin was used to it, he wouldn’t spread on mixtures and lotions to prevent sunburns.

“Do it yourself, you lame excuse for a cook, we’re busy.”

“Busy with what? Holding hands and skipping through the town?” Zoro’s reaction was instantaneous, his hand parting from Usopp’s in a single harsh movement.

“Three-quarters of that food is Luffy’s, so you should just ask him to carry it, dumbass.”

“He’s busy, and he’s the captain. You drink up all the sake, so you should carry as much as those barrels weigh anyway.”

“Let’s not fight! I, the great Usopp, king of the snipers, will pull the cart along safely!”

“Stay out of th- what?” Sanji paused, first looking shocked, then smiling.

“What?”

“You’re the sniper? I thought you were a magician for at least the past day!”

“It is true, he does look kind of like a magician. And he makes those weird potions, too.”

“Hey! I’m not a magician!” Usopp crossed his arms and pretended to be terribly offended as the others laughed.

“I’m sorry, Usopp-san, I’ll make you something special to make up for it.” That visibly brightened the sharpshooter’s expression.

“Fine, but I’m warning you, I’ll unleash my real magic powers on you if you call me a magician again!”

“That would mean you <i>were</i> a magician, though,” said Zoro, his fingers slipping back into Usopp’s comfortable grip.

“If you ask me, Luffy’s the real magician,” said Sanji, tossing a bag of flour to his rival, who caught it in one arm with a grunt.

“Eh? Why?”

“Well, for one, he can make any dish disappear in a matter of seconds.”

 

An island away, a redheaded girl explored on her own, ducking behind buildings when she thought she caught a glance of Natsumi. It was obvious the Turtle Islanders were hiding something, and the only possibility that seemed viable was that it was the mysterious jewel of the Grand Line. This island seemed sparsely populated, but a deep voice was being carried through the empty street.

Nami hesitated, then approached the source of the noise, crouching to listen underneath an oddly-shaped hole in the bamboo structure.

“Fine. How much are we prepared to offer them?”

“Realistically? As much as it takes to get Lance and his dogs off our back. The thing you don’t understand is that as much as I know you want to save everyone, there might have to be sacrifices.”

“Leocadio, I think you’re the one that doesn’t understand. Natsumi and the others are working hard to make sure they don’t find out about them, and we still have material wealth we can give that won’t violate the oath I swore long ago.”

“Oath or no oath, seven islands is better than none.”

“It isn’t! I’d rather die than see another life taken, you know that.”

“All I’m suggesting is that if these pirates truly are more powerful than Lance’s weapons, we have to be prepared to pay a price for the greater good.”

A sigh. Then, “We’ll discuss it if and when the truth comes out. For now, secrecy, or as much secrecy as we can maintain, is best.”

Nami bit her lips, mulling over the conversation. There was a lot Nami hadn’t understood, like the them the unnamed voice had been alluding to, and why it was so dangerous for the crew to know about them. And the seven islands- Natsumi had mentioned there being eight, and even listed the different districts resting on each. If the islands truly did float on the water, was there a way islands could float away? Was there a way they could be gifted an island, for that matter?

The hypotheses churning the waves of the navigator’s mind were interrupted by two stern eyes gazing at her from above, through the hole in the wall. Falling back on her knees, Nami managed a sheepish smile.

“How much did you hear?” The coal-black eyes belonged to a big, muscular woman whose face was dark and freckled by constant sun and sea. She was intimidating, but something in her demeanor seemed almost soft. Nami felt honesty was the best policy in dealing with her.

“Just enough to know you need somebody taken care of. I actually… happen to be the negotiator for our crew, so I can work out the terms here.” The woman sighed and put her head back through the wall, opening the door to let the “negotiator” through.

“Then you should know that I’m Sargasso, the leader of the islands, and you should be informed of how dangerous a man Isadora Lance is.”

“My crew can handle him, don’t worry,” smiled Nami. “We’ll do it for the jewel.”

“Jewel?”

“The jewel of the Grand Line? Doesn’t this country hold it?”

“She wants the jewel?” A stocky, disproportionate man, whose voice Nami recognized as Leocadio’s, stifled a laugh. “Is she serious?”

“There’s nothing funny about that, it’s worth wanting. If the Strawhats can defeat Lance’s men, they’re welcome to it.” Sargasso smiled, sitting and putting her feet up on a low table. “It fixes the complications of our problem. Miss Negotiator, we accept the proposal.”

Nami bit her bottom lip, a little worried about the quality of the bargain. On the bright side, Luffy would undoubtedly pick a fight with this Lance, so at the very least they would get something out of it.

 

“This is incredible! Everything in there looks so tasty!”

“Captain, I don’t think the locals would appreciate you eating their national treasure.”

“Treasure?” Luffy’s eyes widened, then he nodded. “So then, this is their precious food supply.” Robin laughed, raising her hand to cover her mouth.

“Not quite. You see, the unique nature of the coral atoll here makes it possible for certain species of rare fish to nest. The fish we’re seeing aren’t found in any other ocean, except possibly All Blue.”

“You sure know a lot about food! Maybe you and Sanji should team up!” Half-ignoring her lesson on the ecological importance of the fish, Luffy let his mouth water a little thinking about the different dishes that could be made with treasure fish.

Luckily, the scuba supervisors arrived then, carrying a large opaque floating partition and spreading it out into the water.

“Excuse me, sir, what is this for? We’ll hardly get to see the ocean confined in there.”

“It’s... standard procedure? So the coral gets protected?” Robin narrowed her eyes, naturally a bit suspicious of the employee’s tone.

“Cannonball!” Luffy splashed in head-first, leaving the other attendant to dive in and bring him his oxygen supply. Rather than press the subject of the fence, Robin opted to put on her breathing mask and dive into the water, trusting her helper to tug her along.

The bit of reef Luffy and Robin could explore was brilliantly pink, somehow undiminished by the green tint of shallow ocean. The sensation of floating, the coolness of the salt water were refreshing to Robin, who dearly missed swimming. Clouds of silver darted around them, helplessly trying to escape the enclosure as Luffy reached out and tried to pet each of the tiny fish individually.

Although the sample of wildlife was small, Robin could pick out each of the drawings she had studied as a teenager, noting how saturated and comical the colors seemed. A multicolored, glossy-looking angelfish nibbled at her fingers, and out of habit Robin lifted her free hand to hide her smile, a little taken aback to rediscover the mask covering her face.

Finally, the pirates were lifted out of the water like ragdolls and toweled dry, and the attendants were pleased to see the smiles on their faces. Or at least, pleased until Luffy opened his mouth.

“So when do we get to pet all these giant turtles?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this plot twist may have been a little /too/ obvious, but there it is! If you don't know what Luffy's talking about, then I did a better job of beating around the bush than I thought I did (and your questions will probably be answered next chapter). Thank you for sticking with it!


End file.
